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Hudson system
Hudson is a Independent System which connects Liberty and Rheinland (via Texas to Hamburg). There are only two bases, and both are under criminal control. There is one uninhabitable planet, Atka, which once was targeted to be terraformed. Planets Atka The frozen planet of Atka was once targeted to be terraformed by the Liberty government in an attempt to relocate manufacturing and economic undesirables to the Independent Worlds. That plan is currently on hold until the system can be made more secure for commerce. Bases Barrow Base This group was originally comprised of heavy manufacturing and mining workers within Colorado and Texas. Many of their ancestors also worked in the research station, which was a good employer for generations. But Liberty increasingly made money from its information technology licensing and Trade Lane associated monopolies rather than hard, manufactured goods. Over time most of the blue-collar workers became unemployed and were pushed to the economic fringe of Liberty society. As the Liberty rich moved to Colorado to escape the paradise lost in California system, the Xenos were displaced to a small base in the mined out Silverton Asteroid Field. Once there the Xenos launched sporadic raids focused against foreign shippers. Whenever they were captured they were sent to Huntsville prison in Texas, where cross-fertilization with other inmates only helped to swell their ranks. Xenos also hate the foreigner Outcasts that feed the habits of Liberty's morally corrupt rich. For this reason, most of those declared NCR for drug crimes are placed aboard the Sugarland to keep the two groups separate. Because of the Xeno preference for other Houses' ships, Universal Shipping has actually benefited from the attacks and has lobbied the government to take it easy on them. It is rumored that some of their attacks on foreign shipping were not Xenos, but actually mercenaries hired by Universal to harass the competition. There are two additional Xeno bases in the Independent World systems of Hudson and Kepler. Here the Xenos have been able to operate more freely, with only occasional Liberty Navy patrols and Bounty Hunters to secure the areas. They make hit-and-run attacks into Texas frequently, especially to attack the Junker base at Beaumont and confront Outcasts. The Xenos are currently one of the poorest of all the criminal factions, so they have little resources to buy better ships and weapons. To gain a more stable income stream, they hope to evict the Junkers from Texas, and ultimately New York, and thus control a crucial market for Cardamine. The Xenos' love of Side Arms has brought them into conflict with Ageira, especially around its Detroit Munitions plant. They also regularly attack Junkers in the Jersey Debris Field of northern New York. Player notes From Barrow the Xenos launch attacks against the nearby Rogues base. Supply runs are also made to and from the Zoners base at Freeport 2 in the Bering system as well as targeting any Unioners that get in their way. Xenos traders leaving Barrow often have 20-30 Light Arms in their cargo bays. You can sell the Light Arms at Dawson Base for $770 each. Dawson Base The Rogues are a product of over two centuries of systematic lower-class cleaning that occurred on the Liberty planets of Manhattan, Denver, and Los Angeles. Relocated to the Texas prison system, many of them end up planetside on Houston upon release. Some stayed straight and joined the population scratching out a living. The rest returned to their life of crime, often ending up vaporized by a pursuing Liberty police patrol or back in prison for longer stretches, manning the prison factories that are the economic lifeblood of the Texas system. Some say the massive LPI roundups of even minor offenders in Liberty have more to do with staffing these plants cheaply than reducing crime. Fresh out of the incubator of the Texas prison system, they have limited choices. Either they work in the factories of Houston for a pittance, join the Bounty Hunters and hunt down their former brethren, go radical and hook up with the Xenos, or rejoin their former partners in crime. The latter path is the obvious one for most. Simply put, these are not-too-quick opportunists, people willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck and get by until tomorrow. Usually they end up taking the fall for anything illegal that occurs in Liberty, whether they were involved or not. The Rogues are generally a disorganized lot. They are responsible for most of the Trade Lane attacks in Liberty space and the adjacent Independent Worlds, usually operating in groups of only two or three ships, without much grasp of advanced tactics. They also provide shelter for the Outcasts in exchange for Cardamine. Recently they have become the smugglers for much of the Cardamine in Liberty space, supplementing or even replacing the Outcasts on certain high-risk routes. This has made them accomplices to the most persecuted criminal group in Liberty space. The admire the Outcasts, wishing they could be as smart and careful as the Edge World faction. But they regard the LPI as their ultimate masters, perhaps aware that soon they will probably be under the LPI's thumb once again. The primary Rogue base is Buffalo, deep within the confines of the Badlands of New York. Secondary bases are in the Whitney Asteroid Field in California, the Reppu Cloud in Galileo, the Corcovado Field in Cortez, and the Wrangell Field in Hudson. Rogues are frequent visitors to Junker and Lane Hacker bases. Player notes From their base in the Hudson system, Rogues mount attacks on the nearby Trade Lanes and attempt to drive the Xenos from the system. Jump Gates/Holes *Gates **Texas **Hamburg *Holes **Texas (C/D3) **Bering (F6) Wrecks None Fields Kenai Field A large field of rock asteroids. A contingent of Xenos from the neighboring Texas system has settled in the field and make frequent raids on traffic passing through the system. Sitka Field A small field of rock asteroids. Both Xeno and Rogue attacks occur on the Trade Lanes along this field. Wrangell Field A large field of rock asteroids. Liberty authorities believe that Rogues are using the asteroids as cover for their various criminal activities and have increased naval patrols along the nearby Trade Lanes to discourage any attacks. Trivia * Originally seemed to have been named "Hubble", named after Edwin Hubble. In the Texas system files (universe > system > li04 > li04.ini), the tradelane from Houston to Hudson refers to Hudson as "Hubble". Category:Systems Category:Independent Worlds